My Book Retreat

Good morning. I hope you all had a great week. I was on vacation with my family in Asheville, NC, and we had a great time hiking, rafting and touring the Biltmore Estate. I didn't get tons of time to read, but I did make good progress with Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I would probably be done with it if I wasn't distracted by watching the Olympics this weekend!

I put up two reviews this past week.
The Manufactured Identity by Heath SommerFifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James I still have four more reviews to do. I hope to write at least two or three this week. I will catch up eventually!

My son finished Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. He has Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane ready to go so I'm sure he'll be starting that tonight, if we don't end up watching the Olympics all evening again.

Currently Reading
I'm still reading Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I also picked up Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss on a whim. I've been…

If you're a regular reader of My Book Retreat, you'll know I don't generally read romance novels or erotica. The only reason I paid $9.99 to read Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James is because several of my friends were reading it. I don't usually read books for that reason, but I just couldn't resist with this one.

Honestly, I cannot figure out why this has received so much hype. In reality, it's a standard romance novel ~ similar to the ones I read in my teens and 20s, with a little (and I really mean little) BDSM thrown in. It's a typical boy meets girl story, where there's instant attraction, even though neither of them is usually that attracted to others. Then there's the whole issue of one of them not being willing to commit and the other trying to change them. You could say that both of them are unwilling to commit in this case: he doesn't want to give more than a dominant/submissive relationship at first, and she doesn't want to comm…

Waking up in a park, dazed and confused, an unidentified man tries to remember who he is and how he came to be in this place. At the same time, in different towns, men are disappearing. Their wives and lovers don't understand why they've gone. Some think their men have left them. Others think they have disappeared unwillingly. But all of them are trying to make sense of why they have been left behind.

The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer is a unique psychological thriller that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end. I could not figure out what was going on until the women involved started to put the pieces together. Sommer follows several different characters throughout the novel, so we hear many perspectives and stories. Each chapter is about a different person, and at first, it's unclear how they all relate. It takes until the end of the novel to finally realize who the last few people are.

The characters are quite interesting. First, there is the man who w…

Welcome back! I hope you've had a good week. I've done a lot of reading this week as part of the High Summer Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading. So this week's recap serves as my finish line for that read-a-thon.

Last week, I read the following during the read-a-thon:
The last 40 pages of 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. JamesThe last 150 pages of 15 Seconds by Andrew GrossThe last 100 pages of ec-o-nom-ics: a simple twist on normalcy by Kersten KellyThese Ties by William Bortz ~ 87 pagesThe first 16 pages of Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (no, I haven't gotten very far on this one!) As far as reviews go, I'm still very far behind. I did put up my review of 15 Seconds by Andrew Gross. That's it. I have several books on my list to review now, including the rest of the books mentioned above, and:
The Manufactured Identity by Heath SommerTastes Like Human: The Shark Guys' Book of Bitingly Funny Lists by The Shark GuysClout: The Art and Scienc…

Dr. Henry Steadman is looking forward to a great day when he's pulled over by the police for a minor traffic issue. The situation soon escalates to the point that several officers arrive and Henry can't figure out what's going on. Eventually, things settle down and the other officers leave, but as he's waiting for the remaining officer to write out a warning, another car pulls up and the officer is shot dead. Henry quickly realizes that he'll be the prime suspect so he chases after the other car, hoping to clear his name.

15 Seconds by Andrew Gross is a fast-paced, easy-to-read thriller that finds Henry running for his life. Framed for murder and desperate to save his daughter who has been kidnapped by the man responsible for all of this, Henry has no one to turn to except a woman he has never met. Carrie Holmes has just returned to work in the community outreach department at the police station. She takes a call from Henry, who professes his innocence, and she is …

This week, I'm participating in the High Summer Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading. It's a laid-back read-a-thon, which is the kind I like!

I actually started reading yesterday. So far, I've finished two books I had already started reading before the read-a-thon. Here's my full reading list. I'm not sure I'll get to everything but will try to keep this updated throughout the week.

50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James ~ finished the last 40 pages
15 Seconds by Andrew Gross ~ finished the last 150 pages
ec-o-nom-ics: a simple twist on normalcy by Kersten Kelly ~finished the last 100 pages
These Ties by William Bortz ~ 87 pages
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill ~ reading now

I think that's about all I'll be able to handle since I'm working during the days! I'll be doing my reading in the evenings and on the weekend.

If you want to join, there's still time. Just click on the link up above and sign up!

Good morning. I hope you've had a good week and weekend. We spent three hours at the pool on Saturday and several hours at birthday parties yesterday, so it was a busy weekend!

Last week, I put up a review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I just loved this book. It's a fabulous work of literary fiction and I hope to be able to discuss it with my book club at some point.

I got quite a bit of reading done last week as well. I finally finished 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I'll write my thoughts about that later this week.

My son finally gave up on the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. I'm not sure what he didn't like about it but when he had been reading the second book for about a month, I finally told him it was okay if he didn't want to finish it! Now, he's reading Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. He seems to like it but said he was disappointed there isn't really any magic in the story, so I'm not sure if …

When a letter arrives for Harold Fry, he is shocked to find that it is from an old colleague and friend, Queenie Hennessy. It seems Queenie is in hospice with cancer, and she has written to say goodbye. Harold struggles to compose a return letter. As he walks to the end of his drive to mail the letter, he hesitates and decides to walk to the next post box instead. Then he walks to the next. Soon he decides that if he walks all the way to Queenie herself, she will keep on living.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is an absolutely wonderful story of a man's journey ~ both physical and emotional. As Harold walks, he thinks about his life, his time with Queenie, his marriage, his son. He thinks about the good and the bad and the choices he has made. He also meets a great many people from all walks of life. They help him to see his own life from a different perspective.

As Harold walks, his wife Maureen is left behind, struggling to understand why her husband has le…

Good Monday morning! Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to all my new followers who joined My Book Retreat during the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop last week. Each Monday, I participate in this meme, hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, in which I share what I've been reading and reviewing over the past week.

Last week, I put up a review of Replay by Ken Grimwood. It was a great sci-fi novel that prompted some interesting discussions during my book club meeting a couple weeks ago.

As far as reading goes, I didn't manage to complete either of the two books I was reading last week, and I also picked up a third book! So now I'm halfway through three different books. I never do this to myself and am a bit frustrated, so I know I will be done with all three by next Monday! I generally prefer to read one book at a time.

My son is still reading the Septimus Heap book, Flyte, by Angie Sage. It's hard to believe he's been on that same book for several weeks. I think my exception…

Forty-three year old Jeff Winston has a heart attack while talking to his wife on the phone, and dies. He wakes up in his college dorm room at the age of 18. He soon realizes he is going to have to live his life over again, so he decides to make different choices to live a better life this time. He succeeds. But then at 43 years old, he has a heart attack and dies. And he wakes up at the age of 18 again.

Ken Grimwood's Replay is a gripping story of one man's journey to find happiness in his life. Over and over again, Jeff has to relive his life, and the choices he makes each time are thought-provoking. What would you do differently if you could live your life over again? Grimwood really makes you think. Jeff has many lives throughout the story. Sometimes he focuses on becoming rich. Other times he focuses on finding love. Each time, I was drawn into his life, wanting to see where his choices would take him.

This was a book club selection, and most of the women enjoyed it. But…

Hi! Thanks for stopping by today, and welcome to all my new followers! I'm a little late putting this post together, but at least it's still Monday!

Last week was relatively quiet here, but I did put up a big giveaway post. I'm participating in the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop, and I'm giving away a book of your choice by a U.S. author. Be sure to enter before midnight on Thursday.

As far as reading goes, I finished The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer. It was very good, and is now on my long list of books to review! I really need to stop reading for a bit and write all these reviews. I'm never going to get caught up!

My son is still reading the Septimus Heap book, Flyte, by Angie Sage. He also picked up The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman, which I read to him quite a while ago. He's now re-reading it himself.

Currently Reading
I'm still reading ec-o-nom-ics: a simple twist on normalcy by Kersten Kelly. It's not a long book but I&…